Furna do Buraco do Padre

Buraco do Padre

Useful Information

Location:	Peri Pereira Costa, Setor Cercadinho, Distrito de Itaiacoca, Ponta Grossa - PR 84110-000. Parque Nacional dos Campos Gerais (National Park of Campos Gerais). 24 km east/southeast of Ponta Grossa, district of Itaiacoca. 1 km walk through woods. (-25.171758, -49.968511)
Open:	All year 9-17:30, last entry 16:30. Night Experience: All year Wed-Sun 17. [2023]
Fee:	Adults BRL 96, Brazilians BRL 48, Residents of Ponta Grossa BRL 40, Children (0-5) free, Seniors (60+) BRL 48, Students BRL 48, Teachers BRL 48, Disabled BRL 48. Fenda da Freira: Adults BRL 40. [2023]
Classification:	Erosional Cave Gorges Furnas Formation sandstones
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	Buraco do Padre: Ø=30 m, VR=40 m. Fenda da Freira: L=300 m, T=18 °C.
Guided tours:	Buraco do Padre: self guided, D=90 min. Fenda da Freira: guided, D=90 min. Night Experience: L=5 km, D=5 h.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	Buraco do Padre: yes. Rest: no
Bibliography:	Mário Sérgio de Melo, Mario Cezar Lopes, Martin Antonio Boska (2005): Furna do Buraco do Padre, Formação Furnas, PR Feições de erosão subterrânea em arenitos devonianos da Bacia do Paraná, In: M. Winge, C. Schobbenhaus, M. Berbert-Born, E.T. Queiroz, D.A. Campos, C.R.G. Souza, A.C.S. Fernandes (Edit.), Sítios Geológicos e Paleontológicos do Brasil. Publicado na Internet em 08/10/2005 no endereço. Sítios Geológicos e Paleontológicos do Brasil 110. pdf Mário Sérgio de Melo, Mario Cezar Lopes, Martin Antonio Boska (2005): The furna of the Buraco do Padre, Furnas Formation, Underground erosion features in Devonian sandstones of the Paraná Basin, southern Brazil, In: M. Winge, C. Schobbenhaus, M. Berbert-Born, E.T. Queiroz, D.A. Campos, C.R.G. Souza, A.C.S. Fernandes (Edit.), Geological and Palaeontological Sites of Brazil Available online 08/10/2005. pdf
Address:	Parque de Natureza Buraco do Padre, Peri Pereira Costa, Setor Cercadinho, Distrito de Itaiacoca, Ponta Grossa - PR 84110-000, Tel: +55-42-3089-4993.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

2002	declared a sítio geológicos brasileiros (Brasilian geologic site).
2015	park under private management.
2019	University Group for Speleological Research (GUPE) recommends that the Park's administration interdict the natural attraction Fenda da Freira so that technical studies could be carried out.
24-APR-2023	representatives of the Buraco do Padre Nature Park and University Group for Speleological Research (GUPE) signed an important Term of Cooperation Agreement that formalizes a partnership.

Description

Furna do Buraco do Padre (Priest's Hole Cavern) is a huge cavern with a 30 m high waterfall and a cave river called Rio Quebra Perna. Light is provided by a huge hole in the ceiling. The river is warm and the spot is very popular as a bathing spot. The cave was named due to Jesuits who came here to meditate and to take refuge inside.

The cave is rather special, as it is not a karst cave, it is an erosional cave in sandstone. It was declared a sítio geológicos brasileiros (Brasilian geologic site) by the Comissão Brasileira de Sítios Geológicos e Paleobiológicos (Brazilian Commission of Geology and Palaeobiology) in 2002. It is part of the Parque Nacional dos Campos Gerais (National Park of Campos Gerais). The site is managed by Águia Florestal (Eagle Forest), a public forestry company, in other words it is a National Park operated by a private company. The site was developed since 2019 in cooperation with the University Group for Speleological Research (GUPE). The walk to the cave is only 880 m long and very easy, an elevated plankway which is wheelchair-accessible. It enters the cave at the lower end along the outflow of the cave river. The cave has no light, but due to the huge opening it is not necessary. The visit is self-guided and included in the entrance fee of the park.

About 300 m from the beginning of the trail, a trail branches off to the right, which leads uphill over the sandstone escarpment to the upper opening of the pothole. It's a spectacular sight down into the abyss. On the right side a river flows over a waterfall into a lake, which is the swallow hole for the cave, the water reemerging in the wall of the furna.

This trail again has a sidebranch, which leads to a huge rock, which offers a spectacular view, the upper end of the zip line, and finally to the Fenda da Freira. Along all the trails, there are numerous other sites, caverns, springs and waterfalls. All the sights are marked by huge educational signs in Português and English.

The Fenda da Freira (Nuns Cleft) is a gorge, a narrow sandy corridor between greenish walls covered with mosses and lichens, which is approximately 300 m long. It also has a section which is an actual cave. While the trail to the gorge requires a little surefootedness, the floor in the gorge is sandy and level. It can only be visited in small groups with a guide, who is called a "specialized tourism monitor". Brasil introduced a law some 20 years ago which makes guided tours, a public use plan respecting the protection of the site, and the nature protection education of the guides mandatory. The guides are thus obviously quite helpful and also mandatory by law. The opening of the gorge for tourists is the result of a cooperation with the University Group for Speleological Research (GUPE). They explored the site and developed a Public Use Plan, which allows the administration to offer guided tours. For this reason, there is an additional fee for this tour, tickets must be purchased online, tours are offered hourly. Good walking shoes are mandatory, helmets are provided.